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Over 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and further global sports figures have endorsed a letter calling for a halt to the execution of a boxing champion and instructor, who is on death row in the country.

Growing International Outrage

Amid growing worldwide anger over the nation's increasing application of capital punishment as a tool of suppression, the strongly worded appeal condemns the Iranian regime's ruling to maintain the execution order of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an resistance movement. He has spent 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and held in isolation.

“Athletics is intended to encourage hope, unity, and fortitude,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to every athlete who attempts to speak out.

Pattern of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The statement noted that the athlete's circumstances was not unique and emphasized Iran’s history of executing athletes for their views, such as Habib Khabiri, skipper of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the female volleyball side. In 2020, an athlete, a young national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Further endorsers to the appeal include a yachting pioneer, who captained the inaugural female-only team in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a esteemed yachting trophy; the former skipper of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was taken into custody in early 2020. The accusations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and destruction of government belongings”. His verdict has been overturned multiple times but on 4 October it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Call to UN

The appeal to prevent Vafaei Sani’s execution comes after a previous statement to the United Nations official for human rights, signed by over one hundred human rights experts and entities, demanding intervention to prevent the competitor's capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on findings, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has reached alarming dimensions”. In 2023, the government sentenced at least over 850 people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. In the prior period, records showed nearly a thousand deaths, representing the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Analysts say the government have employed the death penalty to suppress dissent, create apprehension among the public and tighten their hold on power.